Railway spike and holder



C. ANDERSON RAILWAY SPIKE AND HOLDER Oct. 21 1924.

Filed April 5, 1924 I Patented Oct. 21, 1924.

CHARLES ANDERSON, or EDDYVILLE, IOWA, assrono a or one- ALF r0 AMatL ram) eosoHKE, or EDnYvILLn, 'IowA.

mazes :50 FF1 RAILWAY SPIKE AND HOLDER.

Application filed April 3, 1924. Serial No. 704,034.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES ANDERSON, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Eddyville, in the county of Napello and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in RailwaySp-ikes and Holders, of which the following is a specification.

1n the usual construction of roadbeds for railways and the like, wooden ties are employed to which the rails are fastened by means of spikes having a head portion whichoverlies anedge of the rail base. Obviously constant attention is necessary to prevent the rails fro-m becoming loose because of the fact that the spikes will slowly .work loose and even come entirely out. The careful inspection of the track necessary to-keepit in good condition in this respect, calls for the. expenditure of much time and money.

An object of my invention is the provision of a special form of spike with which cooperates a holding means such that the spike cannot work loose.

Another object is the provision of such means in which the spike is simple in form 1 and can be readily manufactured, and Wherein the holding means is such that the spike can be readily released whenever it is desired to withdraw the same.

Other objects will be apparent from the following detailed description and appended claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a plan of a section of railroad track showing my invention applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a plan on an enlarged scale of a pair of spikes with the holding means therefor, one of said spikes being in section.

Figure 3 is a vertical section with the spikes and one holding means in elevation.

My invention is shown as applied to the usual railroad track which has wooden ties 1 and rails 2 of the usual form with base flanges 3. Extending lengthwise of each tie and under the rail is placed a short tie plate 4.Whi0l1 has two openings 5 spaced apart the width of the base of the rail, or slightly less. Through each opening is adapted to be driven a spike 6. This spike has the usual body portion 7, an outwardly projecting portion 8 forming a plane shoulder 9 on its upper side adapted to lie in a horizontal plane, and a head 10 which projects a considerable distance on the ,side away from the portion 8 and is adapted to overlie the flange 3 of the rail. 7

The holes or openings 5 in the tie plate are wide enough to receive .theportion of the spike6 which has the projectingportion 8, and when the spiike is driveninto. the tie until the head 10 thereof comtactswithcthe rail flange 3, the upper edgeof the shoulder 9 will lie in substantially the same plane as the top of the-- tie plate 1. v V

Mounted to rotate in -.the.tie plaite ,andlocated near the outer edges thereofand adjacent-theopenings 5 areholding members @11. Each holding member has a stem 12whioh passes through an opening 13 in theytie' plate and is riveted therein asshown atv 14. This riveting is not carried to the point that the member will-be fixed but itleaves the member free to rotate. Thehead ofthe holding member 11 comprises a circular portion 15 having a cut out 16 atone side-large enough to permit the head of thespike to pass freely therethrough, and a central angular portion .17 projecting upward from the circular portion 15 and ,adaptedtoQ-he engaged .by a wrench or other means for turning the same. ,Each holdingm'ember is preferably made of one iece, but it is obvious that it may be me e in two or more parts and that other means for attaching itto the plate a may be employed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In making use of the invention, the ties 1 are first placed, and then the tie plates 4 laid in position. The rails 2 are placed upon the tie plates 4: and the holding members 11 turned until the cut out portion 16 of each coincides with. an edge of the openings 5. The spikes 6 are then driven into position. After the head of the spike contacts with the flange 3 of the rail and the upper edge 9 of the shoulder 8 lies in the same plane as the top of the tie plate 4, the holding means 11 is turned. This brings the circular portion 15 thereof over the edge 9 of the shoulder 8 and consequently holds the spike against withdrawal.

Any tendency of the spike to work out of the tie is resisted by'the holding member 11 which is carried by the plate 4 and the plate 4 is held in position by the weight of the rail 2. It is therefore evident that virtually the entire weight of the rail is effective to hold the spikes in the ties.

The holding members are shown as having been given a quarter turn only, but of course they may be given a hall turn if desired. Furthermore, the underside of the circular portion 15 may be provided with a slight depression at some point to receive the shoulder 8 of the spike and thereby prevent accidental rotation of the holding member 11. Ordinarily, however, there will not be sufficient tendency for these holding members to rotate to render such a construction advisable.

Various detail changes may be made with out in any manner departing from'the spirit of the invention. The spike and holding device may be used with railways of various kinds or with other track rails or analogous structures; It is to be'understood that the invention is limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. Means for holding rails to their ties comprising a tie plate placed between the rail and tie and having openings adjacent the edge of the bottom of the rail, a spike having a head adapted to overlap said rail edge and an oppositely projecting shoulder intermediate its ends, and a member movably carried by the tie plate and having a cut out adapted to register with an opening in the tie plate, but movable to a position overlying the shoulder of the spike.

21. Means for holding rails to their ties comprising a tie plate placed between the rail and tie and having an opening adjacent the edge of the bottom of the rail, a spike having a head portion adapted to engage the edge of said rail and a shoulder passing into said opening the upper face of which lies in the plane of the tie plate when the head of the spike engages the rail, and a member movably carried by the tie plate and having a cut out adapted to register with an open ing in the tie plate to permit the passage of the spike, but movable to a position overlying the shoulder of the spike.

3. Means for holding rails to their ties comprising a tie plate located between the rail and tie and having an opening therein adjacent the rail edge, a spike adapted to pass through said opening and having a head to engage the rail and a shoulder intermediate its ends, said shoulder lying in the plane of the tie plate when the spike engages the rail,- and movable means carried by the tie plate adapted in one position to permit passage of the spike and in another position to overlie the shoulder and prevent removal of the spike.

4. Means for holding rails to their ties comprising a tie plate located between the rail and tie and having an opening therein adjacent the rail edge, a spike adapted to pass through said opening and having a head to engage the rail and a shoulder, said shoulder lying in the plane of the tie plate when the spike engages the rail, and rotatable means carried bythe tie plate having a circular flange adapted to overlie the shoulder and prevent removal of the spike, and

CHARLES ANDERSON. 

